Why this work matters
I began studying developmental trauma for my own healing, and with a dedication to help others with similar experiences to find healing as well. What is crystal clear is that the adaptations clients develop in response to chronic invalidation shape not only their relationships and wellbeing, but echo across generations. Supporting clients in transforming these patterns has the potential to create change that extends far beyond the therapy room.
Healing Happens in Relationship
Clients who grew up in invalidating environments often carry deeply embodied expectations about relationships, safety, and belonging. While insight is important, lasting change requires corrective relational experiences that engage both the mind and the nervous system. ReParentive® Therapy integrates mindfulness, somatic awareness, nervous system regulation, and authentic therapeutic relationship to create the conditions for those new experiences to emerge.
The Instrument of the Therapist
One of the central principles of my work is to see our therapist self as an instrument that requires attention and care. We use our self, primarily our heart, in our work. Clients pluck our strings. We can override or attune to the effect of this.
For this reason, my trainings invite therapists to deepen their own reflective practice alongside learning new clinical skills. Personal growth and professional development are mutually reinforcing.
Developmental Trauma and Social Justice
Developmental trauma does not occur in isolation. The families and communities we serve are shaped by broader social, cultural, and historical forces, including racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, xenophobia, economic inequity, and the enduring effects of colonization. Many of our clients—particularly people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants and refugees, Indigenous communities, and others who have experienced systemic marginalization—carry the cumulative impact of both personal and collective trauma. Understanding these contexts is essential to ethical, trauma-informed practice. By recognizing the systems that contribute to suffering alongside each client’s unique lived experience, we can work with greater humility, cultural responsiveness, and clinical effectiveness.
Why Community Matters
Therapists often practice in isolation while carrying the emotional weight of complex clinical work. I believe we grow most effectively in thoughtful professional community, where consultation, reflection, and shared learning strengthen both our clinical judgment and our capacity to remain present with clients. My trainings are designed to cultivate that kind of community alongside the development of practical clinical skills.